Kissing in Stowe
by Sara K M
Summary: Set in 1941. Liesl talks to Maria about her boyfriends again.
KISSING IN STOWE

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **The Sound of Music.**_

 **If any of you still remember my multi – chapter engagement story, I'm still working on it.**

 **But even though I like pre – marriage Maria and Georg, I** _ **always**_ **prefer married fanfiction couples. So it's not unusual for me to write post – married one shots while I'm working on a pre – marriage story.**

Maria hummed to herself as she kneaded the bread dough, marveling at how quiet their farmhouse was this morning. With eight children and a husband who was often quite loud, this calmness was unusual. But today, most of the children were still in school, and Georg and Fiedrich were examining the maple trees for pests. Liesl was dusting the front room, but she didn't make much noise. The only sound Maria could hear beside herself was Rosemary, who was playing with her blocks a couple of feet away.

"Doc," Rosemary commented as she stacked two blocks on top of each other.

"That's right," Maria agreed, still kneading the dough. "Block."

Maria finally put the bread aside to rise and began cleaning the large kitchen counter, still humming. She was so glad the sun was shining through the window this morning. Everything always felt better when Maria could feel the sun. She would love to spend some time outside, too, but today was a busy day. Liesl's Beau, James, would be coming over for dinner, and Maria wanted to make sure everything was ready.

As if Maria conjured Liesl by just thinking of her, Liesl walked into the kitchen. Maria couldn't help but notice how different Liesl looked than the sixteen – year old she'd first met. Liesl was nineteen now, and dressed like an adult woman instead of a girl. However, she also dressed more simply, in way that was appropriate for farm work. They all did. Today, Liesl wore a green flowered calico dress that fell just below the knee. Maria wore a similar dress in a blue. Maria also had a white apron on while she worked in the kitchen.

"Hello, Liesl. Did you finish the dusting?"

Liesl smiled and nodded. Maria was just about to ask her if she might start on the laundry, when Rosemary screamed, "No! No! No!" So much for quiet.

Maria and Liesl looked at Rosemary at the same time. She seemed to be quite upset that her blocks had fallen down.

Liesl picked up her sister and told her it would be fine.

"Are you done with the blocks, Rosemary?" Maria asked.

Rosemary nodded.

"I'll go get her something else," Liesl volunteered, handing Rosemary to Maria. She gave Rosemary a hug and then placed her back on the floor. Rosemary pouted for a second but quickly brightened when Liesl returned with her wooden train.

Maria smiled at both of her daughters. It was nice that Rosemary was happy again. And Liesl was always so good helping with her younger siblings. She always had been. "Thank you, Liesl."

Maria was just about to ask her oldest if she would mind helping with the laundry when Liesl looked at Maria oddly, like she was nervous about something. "What is it Liesl? Are you nervous about tonight? Things are going to be fine. Everyone likes James."

Liesl sighed and shook her head. "I know that. That's part of the problem. I mean….Forget it."

Maria shook her head as she watched Rosemary play with her train on the kitchen floor. "No, Liesl. Don't forget it. You know you can talk to me about anything." She pulled out a container of lemonade out of the refrigerator and two glasses out of the cupboard. "Please."

Liesl sighed and sat down at their large wooden table with Maria. She took several sips of lemonade before she suddenly asked, "Have you ever thought about kissing anyone besides Father?"

Maria had to struggle not to spit out her lemonade she was so surprised by this question. She was used to talking to her oldest about young men. But Maria was _not_ used to talking about her physical relationship with Georg with any of the children. Even if it was just kissing. "I'm not sure what you mean, Liesl."

Liesl looked out the window for a moment. Then she took another drink of lemonade. Finally, she replied, "James is a good man. I know that. He treats me well, and everyone in the family likes him. Even Father approves of him. I like kissing him, too. But sometimes, I wonder if there might be something more to kissing. Better. Is that wrong? Or is it just something every woman thinks about occasionally?"

Maria paused, trying to figure out how to answer this. "I don't think it's wrong for you to think about that, Liesl," she answered slowly, looking into her daughter's eyes to show she meant that. Maria didn't want Liesl to feel guilty about this. She took another drink of lemonade. "However, even though I can't speak for other women, I _can_ say I've never thought of kissing men other than your father."

Liesl looked down at the table. "Oh.'

Maria took another drink. "Liesl, don't feel too bad about, though. You're not married yet. You're not even _engaged_."

Liesl sipped her lemonade again. "But we're courting. That means James hopes to marry me someday, doesn't it?"

Maria sighed. "Perhaps, but not all couples who court end up married. Liesl, I think if you're wondering about kissing other men, you should tell James you'd like your relationship to become more of a friendship."

"But won't that make him upset?"

"Maybe, but it would be worse for you to keep courting if you're not sure, Liesl. If you want to try kissing other men, you should have the opportunity to do so. And let me tell you something else. I believe when you meet the right man, you _won't_ wonder about other men anymore. "

"Really?" Liesl looked at Maria with wide eyes, like that was too much to hope for.

"Yes. Liesl, when you love a man, kissing is about more than how good it feels physically, although that's nice, too. It's…a way of reminding each other how much you love each other. How committed you are to each other. And when you have that, they're _no way_ you'd think of kissing someone else."

Maria began daydreaming of kissing Georg well she explained this.

Liesl sat there thinking for a moment and finished her lemonade.

From the background, they both suddenly heard Rosemary shout "Chout, chout," as she played with the train. They both laughed.

"Liesl could you get the laundry started for today while I take care of lunch?" Maria asked, remembering what she'd planning on asking before.

"Of course," Liesl replied. "Thank you, Mother," she added, giving Maria a hug.

 **I'm not going to force you to review. (I don't think that's possible, actually.) But I would like to mention that today is my birthday and what I'd like most for presents is reviews. So please?**

 **And** _ **honest**_ **reviews please. Whether they're good, bad, or a little bit of both.**


End file.
